Double ram flash removing machine



@Qin L 11935 H. E. MORTON DOUBLE RAM FLASH REMOVING MACHINE Filed Jan.20, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIInU ATTO RN EYS @m l, H93., H, E. MoRToNDUBLE RAM FLASH REMOVING MACHINE www@ i 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 j mlm/ ma f lA.. L d... i.. n... L ....w m,...

Filed fglan. 20, 1954 ATTORNEYS ml, 1935,. H. E. MoRToN 2,015,955

DOUBL RAM FLASH REMOVJING MACHINE INVENTOR ATTORNEYS m L W35. H. E.MORTON' DOUBLE RAM FLASH REMOVING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 4 x INVENTOR ffjl wbr/0?; f *ff ATTO RN EYS Patented Oct.1, 1935 tlhllTED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOUBLE RAM FLASH REMOVING MACHINEHenry E. Morton, Muskegon Heights, Mich.

Application January 20, 1934, Serial No. 707,475

Claims. (Cl. Sil- 38) This invention relates to a machine for removingthe flash from an electrically butt welded seam of thin sheet metalwork, and more particularly to a machine for simultaneously removing theflash from both sides of such work.

In machines of this character great diiiiculty has been encountered inproperly disposing of the shavings, chips and other particles removedfrom the work and also in preventing the smaller particles from gettingin between the bearing surfaces of the machine parts, causing injury tothese surfaces and destroying the accuracy of the Inachine, and it is anobject of the present invention to overcome these difiiculties.

It is also an object to provide eicient means for positively holding,clamping and straightening the work throughout the length of the seamthereof, said means being positively operated and embodying a slightlyyielding action to provide for variations in the gauge of the sheetmetal forming the work.

It is also an object to provide, in a machine embodying upper and lowertool carrying longitudinally reciprocable rams, a movable carrier forone of said rams together with means for moving said carrier, wherebysaid rams may be moved relatively, one toward and from the other topermit the insertion of the work therebetween and its ready removal, andto eiect a clamping of the work along opposite sides of the seamthroughout its length between fixed shoes or clamping members and likemembers carried by said movable carrier.

A. further object is to provide, in a machine of this type havinglongitudinally reciprocable rams, one of which rams is movable laterallytoward and from the other, an arrangement affording a positive drive forthe rams while providing for such lateral movement of one of the rams;and to provide a ram construction providing a longitudinal channelthroughout its length and openings therethrough for the efficientdisposal of metal particles removed from the work, together with meansfor eifectually preventing fine particles from getting in between theram bearing surfaces.

It is also an object to provide an efficient machine for the purpose,embodying certain other new and useful features in the construction,arrangement and combination of parts, all as hereinafter more fully setforth and illustrated `in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 isa side elevation of a machine illustrative of an embodiment of thepresent invention and showing portions broken away and in section tomore clearly disclose the construction;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same with the top cover portion of the topenclosing housing removed and showing a horizontal section substantiallyupon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section substantially upon ii the line 3--3 ofFig. l;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the forward end of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section substantially upon the line 5-5 of Fig.1;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section substantially upon the line S- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse section substantially upon the line'l--l of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional del5 tail substantiallyupon the line 8 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional detail substantially upon the line 9-9of Fig. 8.

`As shown in the several drawings, I indicates a suitable base, integralwith the rear end portion of which is a pair of spaced apart pedestals2, and a third pedestal 3 is secured to the forward end of said base.Integral with the upper ends of pedestals 2 is a housing 4 formed with aforwardly extended horizontal eXtension 5 supported interme- 25 diateits ends by the pedestal 3, said housing and its extension being formedwith an integral way for a longitudinally reciprocable ram which issubstantially of inverted T-shape in cross section and held within itsway 9 by bars l, one at each 30 side of the central upstanding rib 8 ofthe ram and overlapping the laterally extending ribs thereof to hold thesame down in its way, these guide bars 'i being seated upon shoulders atthe opposite sides of said way 9 throughout the length 35 of the way. Anextension I 8 for the way is bolted to the end of the extension 5 of thehousing 4, which housing and its extension is internally formed withsaid way which is open at eachrend of the machine to permit said ram,upon recipro- 40 cation, to project therefrom.

An upper housing Il is rigidly secured to the upper end of the housing land extends the full length of the housing extension 5 with its lowerside spaced from the upper side of said extension 5, thus leaving anopen slot or space the full length of said extension between it and theoverhanging portion of the upper housing, said slot thus providing aspace to receive the work l2 which, as shown, is formed of sheet metalplates electrically butt welded together at their adjacent edges,forming the seam from the upper and lower sides of which the flash is tobe removed. Obviously the work may be of a form other than a flat sheetas shown, the work when in place, resting upon hardened bars or shoes I3secured in any suitable manner upon the guide bars 'IV and extending thefull length of the work to form fixed seats or clamping shoes, the inneror adjacent edges of these bars extending over the meeting side surfacesof the ramrib 8 and bars 'I to prevent dust particles from getting inbetween these surfaces and being bevelled inwardly and upwardly toengage the work close to the seam at each side thereof throughout thelength of the seam.

` Within the upper housing I I is a carrier member I4 which extends thefull length of said housing and is internally formed with a longitudinalguideway I5 similar to the way 9, for an upper longitudinallyreciprocable ram I6, which ram, like the ram 6, is of T-form inY crosssection and secured and guided within its way by guide bars Il similarto the'bars "I, secured in any suitable manner to the lower side of thecarrier Y similar to the fixed bars or shoes I3, down upon the work toclamp the same rigidly between the movable shoes and said fixed shoesclose to each siderof the seam throughout the length thereof, the inneror adjacent edges of these clamping bars or shoes I9 being beveleddownwardly from the carrier and toward each other to engage the workclose to the sides of the Vseam and to form a V- trough to receive thechips formed by the cutting away of the flash at the upper side of thework.

Secured within a series of vertical bores in each of the rams 6 and I6adjacent their forward ends,

is'a series of tool'holders 20 of cylindrical form,

these bores extending vertically through each bar t and piercing theexposedrsurfaces of the central ribs 8 and I3 of said bars 6 and I6respectively, so that the tools 2I projecting from the ends of saidholders which project into the V-grooves formed between the adjacentinclined sides of the clamping bars or shoes I3 and I9 respectively,will be aligned withtthe seam and in position to successively operate toremove the flash flush with the surfaces of the plates uponreciprocation of the rams, the tools of each series being set to operatesuccessively, the first of the series, to make a roughing cut and thelast, a finishing cut,

and preferably, the tools carried by the upperV '22 Vare secured to theextension 5 adjacent theY inner ends of the clamping bars I3 and saidhousing, thus forming abutments for the plates forming the work when thesame are'in place uponV Y said bars between the rams, and to providespace face of the carrier I4 and its ram I6 are xedly supported thinsheet metal deflector plates 25 within the space between the rams andextending from the stop blocks 22 to and throughrthe rear Vend of thehousing II, these plates being supported with their upper edges againstthe walls of said housing forming the guide or way for the carrier andinclined inwardly and downwardly l with their lower edges lying close tothe upper surface of the upstanding rib 8 of the lower ram 6, withinwhich surface throughout the length of the rain, is formed alongitudinal V-shaped groove 25, said plates thus together forming aV-trough open at its bottom into the V-groove in the top of the lowerram. Small dust-like particles formed in the removal of the ash, arethus deflected and directed into this V-groove in the lower ramfro'mwhich they escape freely downward through holes 2l in the ram, openinginto the bottom of saidr groove. These ne particles are thus preventedfrom working in between the bearing surfaces of the lower ram and areconducted downward through said lowerV ram andinto a'channel 28 at thebottom of the way for said ram. The lower ram is formed with these holes2'I throughout its Vlength Vso that the chips removed from the lowerside of the work may immediately drop through these openings and passinto the channel 28 which is open at its lower side Vat intervalsthroughout Y the length of the housing extension Sand has an inclinedbottom throughout the portion thereof located in the housing 4. the ramsare therefore adequatelyY protected and free escape of chips etc. Y isprovided `to prevent clogging and injury to the machine parts.

To simultaneously reciprocate the rams 6 and I5, each ram is formed withrack teethY 29 throughout the length` of one of the lateral or baseflanges of each ram, both at the same side of the rams, and mounted insuitable bearings in the housings 4 and I I, is a vertical drive shaft30 having secured thereon a pinion 3| to mesh with the rack teeth of thelower ram 6, and a pinion 32 The bearing surfaces of of extendedlength'in mesh with the rack teethV of the upper ram I6. Rotation ofsaid drive shaft through the medium of a large worm gear 33 on its lowerend will therefore effect reciprocation of said rams, said'worm gearbeing driven by'a worm 34 in mesh therewith, upon arhorizontal wormshaft 35 mounted within bearings in a l lateral extension 3E of thehousing 4 which forms a tight enclosing casing for these worms toexclude all chips or particles and protect the driving parts frominjury, the pinion 3I being also enclosed in this chamber. Secured tothe outer end of this worm shaft 35, isa sprocket 31 and motion istransmitted from a reversible electric motor 33 to said sprocket, by asprocket chain 39, said motor being preferably mounted upon the base Iof the machine between the piers 2 where it is out of the way andprotected by said piers and the housing above.

The pinion 32 for driving the upper ram, is elongated soV that it willremain in mesh with the rack of said ram when said ram is moved upwardlyby upward movement of its`carrierI4 to raise said ram relative to thelower ram Yand permit the` insertion or removal of the work from betweensaid rams; and to so raiseV said carrier and'to lower the same to Vbringthe clamping bars or shoes I9 carried thereby into rm contact with thework ToV and clamp the same between said shoes and the stationary shoesI3 therebeneath, with suflicient force to straighten the work throughoutthe length of the seam thereof, a cam shaft 50, substantiallycoeXtensive in length with that of the carrier, is mounted in suitablebearings in the upper part of the housing Il above said carrier, and onthis shaft is secured a plurality of eccentrics 4I surrounded by straps42, each connected to a cylinder t3, the lower ends of which cylindersare pivotally connected in any suitable manner, as at 44, to the upperside of the carrier I6. A loose connection is provided between eachstrap and the upper end of its cylinder, comprising a plunger 45 on eachstrap projecting into the upper end of the cylinder with a coiledcompression spring 45 in the cylinder engaging the inner end of theplunger, and each strap connected to the upper end of its cylinder bybolts 41 passing through openings in a flange 158 on said strap and intoscrewthreaded openings in a flange or end 49 of the cylinder. At therear end of the shaft, the connection between the strap of the eccentricadjacent said end of said shaft, includes springs 50 sleeved on saidbolts 4l between said ange i9 and nuts on the lower ends of said bolts,to yieldingly support the rear end or overhang of the carrier when therams are at the forward end of their stroke, which rear end portion ofthe carrier would otherwise be unsupported and might sag slightly.

When said cam shaft 4i! is rotated through the medium of a worm wheel 5lthereon in mesh with a worm 52 on a transverse worm shaft 53 mounted in.bearings on the housing Il and driven by an electric motor 54 mountedupon a bracket on the side of said housing and connected to said wormshaft by bevel gears, said eccentrics 4! will operate to raise or lowersaid carrier in said housing, and upon down movement, the clamping shoesi9 will be forced into strong contact with the work close to each sideof the seam thereof throughout its length to straighten and rmly holdthe same, the slight yield provided by the springs 46 compensating forany slight variations in the gauge of the sheets, either in thickness oraverage taper.

With this arrangement the work is firmly clamped throughout its entirelength and close to each side of the thus not only rigidly holding thework to prevent buckling or tearing by the action of the tools, but alsoattening and straightening the sheets along their welded edges so thatthe cutting tools may be accurately set to remove the flash flush withthe surfaces of the sheets; and to prevent any springing of theoverhanging end of the upper housing il away from the lower housing part5 under such clamping strains or strains imposed by the tools inremoving the flash, the free ends of these housings are detachably tiedtogether by tie rods or bolts 55 applied to ears 55 projecting from theends of these parts, or by any other suitable means.

This clamping and straightening of the work throughout the entire lengththereof is very essential in a draw cut machine employing parallel toolcarrying rams for removing flash from welded seams of sheet metal work,regardless of the shape of the work, and it is also very essential insuch a machine, that adequate provision be made for disposing, quicklyand effectively, of all shavings, chips and small particles removed bythe cutting tools, and in a manner to insure that none of the nnerparticles can possibly work in between the bearing surfaces of the ramsor into other parts of the mechanism.

Obviously changes may be made in the construction, arrangement andcombination of parts within the scope of the appended claims, such 5changes being contemplated, and I do not, therefore, limit myself to theparticular construction shown.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim iszl i. A machineof the character described including a supporting structure providing away,

a. tool carrying member of extended length reciprocable in said way andformed with a series of openings throughout its length transversely lthereof, a tool carried by said member, a pair of members to engage thework along the entire length of the path of travel of said tool and atopposite sides thereof, said members projecting over the sides of saidway and upper side of said tool carrying members therein, and formingbetween them a groove to receive material removed from the work by saidtool and into which groove said openings in `said tool carrying memberopen, said groove and openings being positioned ahead of said tool inthe direction of its working stroke to conduct away said material, andmeans for reciprocating said tool carrying member.

2. A machine of the character described including a supporting structureproviding ways, Q tool carrying members reciprocable in said ways withtheir adjacent sides spaced apart to receive work therebetween, toolscarried by said members to engage opposite sides of the work, members toengage the work at opposite sides of the paths of 95 travel ci saidtools throughout the length of said members projecting over the openingsof said ways between the sides thereof and said tool carrying membersand forming grooves between the adjacent sides of said members, groovesto receive material removed from the work by said tools and exclude thesame from said way, and means for reciprocating said tool carryingmembers.

3. A machine of the character described including a supporting structureproviding horizontally extending parallel ways, tool carrying memberslongitudinally reciprocable in said ways with their adjacent sidesspaced apart to receive work therebetween, tools carried by saidmembers, a member supported within the space between said members beyondthe end of the work therein to cover the portion of the lower toolcarrying member beyond the work and prevent particles removed from thework from getting in 55 between the bearing surfaces of said way andmember, and means for reciprocating said tool carrying members. l

e. Amachine of the character described including a supporting structureproviding parallel, horizontally disposed ways, a pair of tool carryingrams reciprocable in said ways with their adjacent sides spaced apart toreceive work therebetween having a welded seam, tools carried by saidrams for removing ash from the upper and G5 lower sides of said seam,means to engage the work at the upper and lower sides thereof adjacentsaid seam` throughout the length thereof and forming grooves into whichsaid tools extend, said lower ram having a longitudinal groove in itsupper side opposite the groove formed by said work engaging means andopenings through said ram opening into said groove, a trough wit in thespace between said rams beyond the end of the work and open at itsbottom into said groove ioA in said lower ram to conduct away materialre` moved from the work by said tools, and means for reciprocating saidrams.

` 5. A machine for removing the ash from a Welded seam of sheet metalwork and including a supporting structure having a way, spaced apartlongitudinally reciprocable parallel tool carrying rams, a series oftools carried by each of said rams one reciprocable in said Way forsuccessively removing ilash, the tools carried by one ram being Y instaggered relation to those of the other ram,

Y thereby,fto.ward Vand from the other ram, and

means for reciprocating said rams.

6. In'a machine for removing the flash from a welded seam, thecombination of a supporting structure providing a way and a worksupport, a ram reciprocabie in said way, a movable carrier providing away,V a second ram reciprocable in said way of said carrier, toolscarried by said rams, means for moving said carrier toward said Y worksupport including a shaft above and extending longitudinally of saidcarrier, cams on said shaft and means connecting said carrier and camsand embodying springs to yieldingl-y clamp the work between said carrierand support',V and means for reciprocating said rams,

7. In a machine for removing ilash `from a Ywelded seam, the combinationof a supporting structure'providing a horizontal way and work supportingmembers extending along said way and forming a longitudinal channel, aram reciprocable in said way and formed with a series of openingstherethrough opening through the upper side thereof along its lengthinto said channel formed by said members, a horizontal carrier above andcoextensive with said ram and provided Vwith a longitudinal way in itslower side and a longitudinal channel above said way,

Van upper ram reciprocable in said way of said carrier and provided withopenings open at one end into said channel and at their other endthrough the lower side of said ram, clamping means Von said carrier toengage the Work throughout the length of the seam of the work to opposesaid work supporting members and forming a longitudinal groove intowhich said openings in said ram open, tools carried by said rams, meansfor moving said carrier toward said work support to clampY the workbetween its support and said means on said carrier and to move saidupper ram toward and from the work, and means for simultaneouslyreciprocating said rams.

8. In a machine for removing flash from a welded seam, the combinationof a supporting structure providing a horizontal way and a work supportextending along said way, va lower ram reciprocable in said way andformed with a series of openings therethrough opening Vthrough theY ofsaid ram, parallel spaced apart clamping mmbers` on said carrier toengage the Work at opposite sides of the seam thereof throughout thelength of the seam and forming a channel to receive material removedfrom the work and into 5 which said openings open, a tool carried bysaid upper ram and projecting into said channel be tween said clampingmembers to remove flash Y from the upper side of the seam, a toolcarried by the lower ram to remove iiash from the lower side of theseam, the removed material escaping through said openings in said ram,means for Y moving said carrier toward and from said Work support, andmeans for reciprocating said rams.

9. In a machine for removing flash from a welded seam, the combinationof a supporting structure providing a horizontally extending way,

a lower Vram reciprocable in said way and having open'mgs extending Yvertically therethrough, spaced apart members on said structure forminga groove therebetween and extending along said way and projecting oversaid ram to support work adjacent opposite sides of the. seam throughoutits length, a tool on said ramproject- Y ing into the space betweensaid'supporting mem- 25 bers to remove flash from the lower side of theseam, a carrier guided in said structure above the work and formed witha horizontal Way, an upper ram r eiprocable in said way, spaced apartclamping members on said carrier to engage the removing ash from Ytheupper side ofsaid seam; 35.

abutment members for the work at the ends ofV said clamping members, atrough between said rams beyond said abutments to receive materialremoved by the tool on the upper ramV and disn v charge itV into theopenings in the lower ram,r40 means for moving said carrier to bringsaid clamping members into clamping engagement with the work and to movesaid upper ram later` ally toward and from the lower ram, and means forreciprocating said rams. 45 l0. In a machine for the purpose described,the combination of a lower housingformed with a horizontal way extendingthroughoutV the length thereof, a lower ram reciprocable in said way andprovided with. a cutting tool, an upper housing secured throughout aportion of'its length to said lower housing and spaced therefromthroughout the remaining portion, a ram carrier guided in said upperhousing for movement toward and from said lower ram and formed with 55 alongitudinal wayin its lower side, an upper ram reciprocable in said wayin said carrier and provided with a cutting tool, each of said ramsbeing formed with rack teeth along one side thereof, a vertical driveshaft mounted in bearings in said housing and provided with gearsengaging Asaid Y rack teeth of said rams, the gear in engagement withthe teeth of said upper ram being elongated to provide for .upwardmovementV of said ram with said carrier, means for rotating said driveshaft, said housings providing a closed chamber in which said means andgears are enclosed, a cam shaft mounted in bearings in the upper part ofsaid upper housing and extending longitudinally of said carrier andprovided with cams, means embracing Vsaid cams and connected to saidcarrier and embodying yieldable means, and means'for rotating said camshaft. f

HENRY E. MORTON..Y

